Naughty Dog’s “The Last of Us” took the world by storm after its release in 2013, and has received several awards, including the BAFTA Game Award for Best Game. It’s no surprise that fans went ballistic when a sequel to the original game was announced in 2016.

The first trailer for the sequel was met with praise and adoration, as it gave fans a glimpse at the original game’s protagonists, Ellie and Joel. However, it did little to hint at the plot of the sequel.

A little anonymity can do a lot for a game’s plot, especially a game as heavily regarded as “The Last of Us”. While fans are dying to know what Naughty Dog has in store for them, they would also rather keep the overall plot a secret and find out for themselves. To coin a popular saying, less is more.

That being said, the second trailer for “The Last of Us 2” did an amazing job of keeping the overall story on the down low, while also giving fans just enough information to make predictions and theories.

The second trailer has also received much criticism for its brutality, which is somewhat understandable; however, there was just as much raw violence, if not more, in the original game. If anything, this is preparation for the ride players are going to be taken on in the upcoming game.

There is also criticism about the fact that Ellie and Joel didn’t make an appearance in the new trailer. However, Naughty Dog has come out and said that these new characters will play a larger part in Joel and Ellie’s journey.

The main fan theory that has been circulating the internet, one which I agree with wholeheartedly, is that the mystery woman is Ellie’s birth mother, Anna.

Though Anna died while giving birth to Ellie, it would explain how she would factor into Ellie’s story and why Naughty Dog would go to such lengths to keep the characters name a secret. The game can also flash back to Anna and then fast forward to Ellie and Joel present day.

It’s clear the new antagonist, Emily, is somehow connected to Anna. That’s made clear when Lev tells Yara that Anna’s “one of them.” Emily appears to be part of a super religious, yet murderous group of survivors that punish their enemies by hanging them and cutting out their intestines.

The group could have easily turned on Anna when they found out she was pregnant, “nested in sin” as Emily so eloquently put it. After the events of the trailer, Yara and Lev probably stay with Anna in order to survive, and eventually find their way to the fireflies.

It’s possible that this religious group is still active after Ellie’s birth, and that Yara and Lev are actively fighting against them, which manages to take us back to something Ellie said in the first trailer.

As Ellie’s addressing Joel, she says “I’m going to kill every last one of them.” The only clear cut antagonists we have at the moment are that religious group. Yara and Lev could have found Ellie, seen the resemblance between her and Anna, then told her about the group that had been hunting them when they found and rescued Anna.

While Anna died during childbirth, it’s possible that the religious group put Anna in a dangerous position where she would have to be left behind in order for Ellie to survive.

There are numerous reasons for Ellie wanting to get her revenge on the group, but Anna is the only clue we have as of right now. For now all fan can do is wait for the sequel, which is set to come out between 2018 and 2019.